Jeremiah 34

34^*The word which came unto Jeremiah from the Lord, ^awhen Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and all his army, and ^ball the kingdoms of the earth ^†of his dominion, and all the people, fought against Jerusalem, and against all the cities thereof, saying, ²Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel; Go and speak to ^aZedekiah king of Judah, and tell him, Thus saith the Lord; Behold, ^cI will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and ^dhe shall burn it with fire: ³And ^ethou shalt not escape out of his hand, but shalt surely be taken, and ^edelivered into his hand; ^eand thine eyes shall behold the eyes of the king of Babylon, ^eand ^†he shall speak with thee mouth to mouth, and ^fthou shalt go to Babylon. ^4gYet hear the word of the Lord, O Zedekiah king of Judah; Thus saith the Lord of thee, Thou shalt not die by the sword: ⁵But ^gthou shalt die in peace: and with ^hthe burnings of thy fathers, the former kings which were before thee, so shall they burn odours for thee; and ⁱthey will lament thee, saying, Ah lord! for I have pronounced the word, saith the Lord. ⁶Then Jeremiah the prophet spake all these words unto Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem, ⁷When the king of Babylon’s army fought against Jerusalem, and against all the cities of Judah that were left, against ^kLachish, and against ^lAzekah: for ^mthese ⁿdefenced cities remained of the cities of Judah.

^8*This is the word that came unto Jeremiah from the Lord, after that the king Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people which were at Jerusalem, ^oto proclaim liberty unto them; ^9pThat every man should let his manservant, and every man his maidservant, being an Hebrew or an Hebrewess, ^qgo free; ^rthat none should serve himself of them, to wit, of a Jew his brother. ¹⁰Now when all the princes, and all the people, which had entered into the covenant, heard that every one should let his manservant, and every one his maidservant, ^qgo free, that none should serve themselves of them any more, then they obeyed, and let them go. ^11*But ^safterward they turned, and caused the servants and the handmaids, whom they had let ^qgo free, to return, and brought them into subjection for servants and for handmaids.

¹²Therefore the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah ^tfrom the Lord, saying, ¹³Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel; I made a covenant with your fathers in the day that ^uI brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondmen, saying, ¹⁴At ^vthe end of ^wxseven years let ye go every man his brother an Hebrew, which ^||xhath been sold unto thee; and when he hath served thee six years, thou shalt let him go free from thee: but your fathers ^yhearkened not unto me, ^yneither inclined their ear. ¹⁵And ye were ^†now turned, and had done right in my sight, in ^oproclaiming liberty every man to his neighbour; and ^zye had made a covenant before me in the house ^†which is called by my name: ¹⁶But ye turned and ^apolluted my name, ^band caused every man his servant, and every man his handmaid, whom ye had set at liberty ^cat their pleasure, to return, and brought them into subjection, to be unto you for servants and for handmaids. ¹⁷Therefore thus saith the Lord; Ye have not hearkened unto me, in ^oproclaiming liberty, every one to his brother, and every man to his neighbour: behold, ^dI proclaim ^ea liberty for you, saith the Lord, ^fto the sword, ^fto the pestilence, and ^fto the famine; and ^gI will make you ^†to be removed ^hinto all the kingdoms of the earth. ¹⁸And I will give the men that have transgressed my covenant, ⁱwhich have not performed the words of the covenant which they had made before me, ^jwhen they cut the calf in twain, and passed between ^kthe parts thereof, ¹⁹The princes of Judah, and the princes of Jerusalem, ^lthe eunuchs, and the priests, and all the people of the land, ^jwhich passed between ^kthe parts of the calf; ²⁰I will even give them into the hand of their enemies, and ^minto the hand of them that seek their life: and ⁿtheir dead bodies shall be for meat unto the fowls of the heaven, and to the beasts of the earth. ²¹And Zedekiah king of Judah and his princes will I give into the hand of their enemies, and ^minto the hand of them that seek their life, and into the hand of the king of Babylon’s army, ^owhich are gone up from you. ²²Behold, ^pI will command, saith the Lord, and ^qcause them to return to this city; and ^qthey shall fight against it, and ^qrtake it, and ^qsburn it with fire: and ^tI will make the cities of Judah a desolation ^uwithout an inhabitant.